Resources Archives - Research Park

FAST Center at Illinois: SBIR Resources

researchpark24 / June 13, 2024

FAST CENTER AT ILLINOIS: SBIR RESOURCES FAST (Federal and State Technology) Partnership Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Securing federal grant funding for your innovative idea or technology is a critical step toward commercial success. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, often referred to as “America’s Seed Fund,” are an excellent source of undiluted funding, but are highly competitive. The FAST Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is led by EnterpriseWorks and provides free resources, support, and expertise necessary to submit a highly competitive proposal to help startups and companies bridge the gap between research and commercialization. We have helped companies acquire millions of dollars in federal SBIR/STTR funding – at no cost whatsoever to them. Why the Illinois FAST Center is at EnterpriseWorks Up to 25% of all State of Illinois SBIR/STTR funding is awarded annually to the companies or graduates of EnterpriseWorks in Research Park. These programs award $2 billion dollars annually to qualified small businesses across the nation for innovative projects that meet specific federal needs. Entrepreneurs receive anywhere from $150,000 to $1 million in capital. Awards are based on small business qualifications, degree of innovation, technical merit and future market potential. FAST Center at Illinois Resources Office Hours Office hours are available by appointment to Illinois-based teams seeking quick answers about SBIR/STTR funding, how the program works, team eligibility to apply, how funds can be used, etc. We recommend that SBIR/STTR newcomers review the Illinois FAST Center SBIR/STTR FAQ document prior to scheduling office hours. Illinois FAST Center SBIR/STTR FAQs Best Kept Secret! Click here to download your very own copy of this super valuable resource. Comprehensive and searchable PDF Clickable table of contents jumps right to the answer you seek Includes links to freely accessible and valuable tools and resources One-on-One Technical Assistance Entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors throughout the State of Illinois can apply for one-on-one technical assistance. This includes assistance with more complex SBIR/STTR questions such as insight, guidance, or strategy for selecting an agency or solicitation, review and feedback of proposal drafts, and help with proposal budgets and application process. A limited number of hours are available for per business, per proposal for 1:1 technical assistance and are subject to availability of program funding. FREE SBIR/STTR Training Events & Online Training Archives Through the FAST Partnership Program, we offer monthly webinars that focus on introductory topics (SBIR 101) and explore opportunities related to specific agencies that participate in the SBIR program. We also offer webinars and workshops that provide a deeper dive on agency SBIR/STTR programs or processes, successful award management, Phase II topics, and updates, priorities, or changes at the federal or state level for SBIR/STTR stakeholders. We collaborate with Illinois ecosystem peers to produce and deliver intensive training workshops designed to help qualified teams to prepare successful SBIR/STTR grant applications for submission. NEW! Ready! Set! GO!In November 2024, the FAST Center launched a new Ready! Set! Go! program designed to drive competitive proposal development. Stay tuned for more information about how companies can apply for further assistance. Fast Center Calendar and Newsletter Subscribe to the FAST Center Newsletter to stay up-to-date on programs, webinars, and other resources for the SBIR/STTR community in Illinois. We post our upcoming events on the FAST Center of Illinois calendar. Want to receive notices about upcoming events? Click the SUBSCRIBE button below. For more information or questions, please contact il-fast-training@lists.illinois.edu. We love to share FAST Center success stories! State of Illinois SBIR/STTR Phase 1 matching grant program IL DCEO Website for SBIR/STTR Phase I Matching ProgramLearn more about eligibility, restrictions, application process, award process, and reporting requirements. IL DCEO Notice of Funding Opportunity for the SBIR/STTR Phase I Matching Program – including links for supplemental documents VIDEO: During this session from Oct. 2024, Roland Garton and Jamie Gladfelter led a discussion focused on SBIR/STTR Matching & Supplementary Funds. The video archive may be viewed here, and the slide archives may be viewed here. SBIR/STTR Online Training Archives All FAST Center Webinar and Workshop Archives Illinois FAST Center Monthly Webinar Archives Focus on Intro to SBIR/STTR Topics Focus on NIH SBIR/STTR Focus on NSF SBIR/STTR Focus on Post-Award Management Other Agency SBIR Programs (DOD, DOE, USDA) More Resources Sample SBIR Application – Digital Medicine Sample SBIR Application – Portable Testing Device Sample SBIR Application – Therapeutics America’s Seed Fund Illinois Small Business Assistance SIU Carbondale SBIR Catalyst Program Tutorials SBIR/STTR Technical Assistance This program encourages entrepreneurs to apply for federal grants.

FAST Center at Illinois: SBIR Resources Read Post »

Resources

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program

researchpark24 / July 29, 2021

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program EIR consulting meetings are available both in-person and virtually. The Research Park Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program provides free consulting to new startup ventures and prospective technology entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence team features experienced entrepreneurs that have faced challenges in commercializing research/early stage technology. They provide advice on a wide variety of business topics like successfully attracting investment, building a team and communicating value proposition. The EIRs are available via appointment for any Research Park client or University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty, staff, student or community technology entrepreneur to receive business consulting, strategy assistance, marketing and communication help, investor preparedness, or other startup consultation needed. Entrepreneurs may select an EIR or have one assigned by the EnterpriseWorks staff based on the subject matter and availability of the team. The EIR program also has monthly training events for technology entrepreneurs covering basic fundamentals most entrepreneurs face such as intellectual property basics, business development and sales, SBIR/STTR grant writing, and investor options and negotiations. For assistance, submit an online request form. Alan Singleton Alan Singleton provides legal services to business clients in the areas of corporate formation and transactions, intellectual property, securities law, and real estate. Alan earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Illinois in 1988 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1991. Following law school and prior to founding Singleton Law Firm, he practiced with the Urbana law firm Webber & Thies as an associate and then shareholder. He has over 17 years of experience working with entrepreneurs to develop solutions to the wide variety of business and legal issues they face in establishing and growing their companies. Through his commitment to serving the needs of clients, beginning with the selection of an appropriate business entity and continuing throughout their stages of development, Alan has established a reputation as one of the leading advocates for technology transfer and early stage companies in East Central Illinois. In recognition of his work, Alan was selected by the University of Illinois and the Champaign County EDC as the 2008 recipient of the Entrepreneurial Advocacy Award. Experience: Legal Services | Corporate Formation | Intellectual Property | Securities Law | Real Estate | Technology Transfer Chris Harbourt Chris Harbourt is a serial entrepreneur involved in a number of businesses and investments. His focus today is in helping faculty and students grow successful businesses from great ideas. Chris is currently involved in startup consulting, building new software businesses in agriculture, and building traditional businesses like aircraft flight services and building custom classic cars. Chris was the founding CEO of Agrible, where he led fundraising efforts (seed, Series A, bridge, and Series B) and assembled a great team who built valuable software for agriculture. Those efforts led to an exit that created wealth for investors and founders. Chris is investing as a Partner at Anther Group, an early stage consulting and investing firm. His expertise includes startup business operations, fundraising, software product development, physical product development, sustainability, and R&D data collection. Chris has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Agricultural Engineering and teaches there in the Technology Entrepreneurship Center and the Department of Crop Sciences sharing experiences with students. Experience: Agriculture | Fundraising | Software | Business Operations | Sustainability | Product Development | Data Collection Daphne Preuss Daphne Preuss is an entrepreneur focused on bringing genetic and biotechnology innovations to life sciences, food technology, and agriculture. She previously founded, built, and served for 11 years as CEO for Chromatin Inc., developing sorghum seed for growers in over 50 countries. Since exiting in 2019, she has served as an Executive Board member / Operating Partner leading startups through value inflections and has launched BlooMD to explore antimicrobial compounds made by plants. She frequently advises faculty and founders who are launching companies, including providing guidance on raising capital and capitalization strategies, forming a board and choosing investors while maintaining good and appropriate goverance, building a team, planning for an exit, building an IP portfolio that is aligned with a commercial strategy, go-to-market plans, and forming strategic partnerships. In addition, Preuss enjoys leveraging her network of investors, entrepreneurs, advisors, and service providers to accelerate the growth of small companies while keeping costs manageable. Prior to joining Chromatin, Preuss was a Professor and Howard Hughes Investigator at the University of Chicago. Experience: Agriculture | Biotechnology | Capitalization Strategy | Commercial Strategy | IP Portfolio Alignment| Strategic Partnerships| Exit Planning | Governance | Team Building Dennis Beard Dennis is Managing Partner of Serra Ventures and also serves as a Partner and CFO for Open Prairie Ventures, both early-stage venture capital firm. Champaign-based Serra Ventures invests in technology companies and specializes in agriculture technologies. Serra has invested in over 70 companies, including many from the Research Park, and its partners also have worked with EnterpriseWorks and the Research Park as EIRs for more than a decade, including CEO Tim Hoerr. Dennis, a CPA, has been involved throughout his career with businesses of all sizes as a Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Controller for SLM Aminco, CFO for Segno Communications, CFO and CEO for the Home Recovery Group of Companies, and Partner with Blakeman and Beard, LLC, CPA’s. Dennis is an adjunct faculty member in the Gies College of Business and lecturer for an entrepreneurial finance course. Experience: Finance | Healthcare | AgTech | Raising Capital | Investor Reporting | Exit Transactions | Investment Opportunities Edwin Moore Ed Moore is the President and Principal Consultant of BioPhia Consulting Inc. and a Visiting Scientist at the University of Illinois Chemistry Department. He brings 30 years of biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, and clinical diagnostic industry experience from global companies, Baxter Healthcare Corp and Abbott Laboratories, in R&D product development. During his career, he has held various roles in CMC pre-clinical product development for recombinant therapeutic proteins and for IV parenteral small molecule products in Analytical Method Development, Stability Testing, and Formulation. Additionally, he has lead overall pre-clinical product development for a recombinant therapeutic protein product. He has held positions from bench scientist, R&D Product Development, to Sr. Director, Global Analytical

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program Read Post »

EnterpriseWorks Tenants

Aware

researchpark24 / January 29, 2021

Aware AWARE (Accelerating Women And underRepresented Entrepreneurs) is programmed through the EnterpriseWorks incubator at the University of Illinois Research Park. The program exists to support entrepreneurship training, counseling, and networking. AWARE offers resources and an enhanced infrastructure that make the current entrepreneurial ecosystem more accessible to all. Those resources include: a dedicated entrepreneur-in-residence familiar with the needs of those from underrepresented groups. small proof-of-concept grants for teams targeted mentorship, training, and networking opportunities AWARE events found on the Research Park calendar The AWARE program is led by Laura Bleill, director of external engagement at the Research Park and EnterpriseWorks. For more information, please contact Laura Bleill at lwbleill@illinois.edu. JOIN THE AWARE MAILING LIST Proof of Concept Award The AWARE program seeks to aid women and underrepresented entrepreneurs through a proof-of-concept award. The AWARE proof-of-concept award provides funding to potential SBIR/STTR applicants to enable prototype development and accelerate the path toward commercialization. Awardees may receive up to $1,500 in proof-of-concept funds. The second round of Proof of Concept award applications is now closed. Stay tuned for future award opportunities. See the video below for a presentation from proof-of-concept award winner Amanda Smith of KAS Automotive. AWARE Workshop Series The AWARE program hosts a four-part workshop series to introduce researchers to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Participants explore the commercialization process, engage with investment experts, and discover local resources for entrepreneurs. The spring workshop series is now complete. Please check our calendar for upcoming workshops and events. Workshop One: Visioning Impact from Research This workshop introduces the commercialization process and features successful women entrepreneurs at Illinois. Participants explore their own research programs, discuss potential ideas for commercialization and reflect upon the benefits and challenges of taking ideas to market. Workshop Two: Learning the Landscape This workshop introduces the entrepreneurship ecosystem at UIUC. Participants will learn of the entrepreneurial resources available within our community and engage with leaders within the ecosystem. Workshop Three: Building a Team Participants learn the importance of building an effective team to bring their innovation to market. They identify their role in the process and discover they don’t have to start a company or be the CEO. Workshop Four: Understanding the Funding Lifecycle Participants engage with experts from potential funding sources (public and private) to understand the available options that are most appropriate at each stage. (SBIR, Angel, Venture Capital etc.) History of AWARE The pilot program for AWARE was led by principal investigator Jed Taylor, director of operations at the Technology Entrepreneur Center, and co-PI Laura Bleill in a collaboration among the College of Engineering, the Office of Technology Management, and EnterpriseWorks. It was generously funded by a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation starting in late 2016 through early 2019. In the Fall of 2019, AWARE received a $50,000 Growth Accelerator Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. AWARE was one of 60 accelerators and incubators to win the 2019 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. The funds allow EnterpriseWorks to continue and strengthen the program by providing resources and support to female-founded tech companies. Read more about the SBA Growth Accelerator Award here. AWARE in the News Read what the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering wrote here. Read what The Daily Illini wrote here. Read the press release about the five winners of the proof of concept awards here.

Aware Read Post »

EnterpriseWorks Tenants

EnterpriseWorks Shared Services Program

researchpark24 / January 29, 2021

EnterpriseWorks Shared Services Program The EnterpriseWorks incubator at the University of Illinois offers a Shared Services Program to help its clients with short-term project needs. Let our diverse team of student specialists help your company with of projects in areas such as graphic design, social media, and communications. Shared Services is a free service for eligible companies. To request a project, please apply online. If your application is approved, Shared Services will contact you and meet with you to start the project. Who is eligible? EnterpriseWorks tenants and affiliates I-Start recipients What are the guidelines? Fall & Spring: During the academic semester, only one project request per company will be approved. Summer: Multiple project requests from the same company may be approved. A company may submit one request at a time, and additional requests will not be considered until the deliverables from the previous project have been completed. Project Scope: Project requests must be short-term in nature, such that completion in 30 business days is reasonable, with specific deliverables. Note: As of 2024, we cannot offer web development as a service. Thank you for understanding. Submit a Shared Services Request by filling out this application. Types of Projects Have a project in mind? See if it aligns with any approved project types here. Previous Projects View recent projects completed by our student specialists. Shared Services This program gives startups access to student talent for projects.

EnterpriseWorks Shared Services Program Read Post »

Research Park Tenants

Catapult Program

researchpark24 / January 29, 2021

Catapult Program The Catapult Program benefits University of Illinois-affiliated entrepreneurs with strong potential for technology commercialization through new company formation. Catapult awardees have access to a suite of professional services, including business development, legal setup, SBIR applications, bookkeeping, and marketing/branding assistance. EnterpriseWorks maintains a list of professional service providers and pricing for Catapult clients. Catapult award recipients are required to become tenants of the EnterpriseWorks incubator. Through the program, EnterpriseWorks competitively awards companies 80% of the service cost (up to $5000). Funding and resources are available for one year. Lastly, services are expected to be completed within the budget allocations for each category. An Ideal Candidate should: Have the company in the pre-formation stage Have the Technology licensed, or in the process of being licensed, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Apply to the Catapult Program Disclaimer: Submitting the form doesn’t guarantee the award, and the applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Service Providers If your firm wishes to provide services for Catapult program, please submit a one-page scope of services on any of the packages listed on the table, including prices and contact information on company letterhead, to research-park@illinois.edu. Catapult Program Catapult provides university-affiliated startups with access to professional services.

Catapult Program Read Post »

Research Park Tenants

Workforce Development

researchpark24 / August 7, 2019

Workforce Development Workforce development resources are available to tenants large and small at the University of Illinois Research Park. Research Park and EnterpriseWorks companies have access to our Recruiter-in-Residence, Human Resources Expert-in-Residence, in-house workforce development expertise, and numerous recruiting events and workshops. The Talent Manager at the Research Park supports the growth of the workforce in the Park by connecting corporations and startups with student and full-time professional talent. This role works directly with clients and coordinates recruiting events and programming to facilitate these connections. Bryan Goode is the Talent Manager for the Research Park. Learn more and contact Bryan on the Research Park Staff Page. Recruiter-in-Residence The Recruiter-in-Residence (RIR) at the University of Illinois Research Park provides one-on-one recruiting assistance to companies scaling their operations through talent acquisition. Consulting is available for Research Park companies including corporations, small businesses, EnterpriseWorks tenants, and affiliate members. Growth-stage startups are prioritized. Sophie Roney is the Recruiter-in-Residence for the Research Park. She focuses on helping clients with best practices for sourcing, identifying, and successfully hiring full-time technical talent. She is the owner of PickedUS , a recruitment consulting agency specializing in startups, and agriculture-tech. Sophie is a Champaign native as well as a UIUC Gies College of Business alumna with experience in full-cycle recruiting and talent analytics from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to one-on-one technical recruiting assistance, she hosts annual training events and workshops throughout the year. Consulting services include: Technical recruiting advice and strategy suggestions Receiving templates for recruitment strategizing Interview planning Employment brand development Human Resources Expert-in-Residence Kelly Gust is the Human Resources Expert-in-Residence for the Research Park. She helps organizations connect their people strategy to their business strategy using data-driven solutions to hire, inspire and engage teams to perform. Kelly is the president and principal talent optimizer for HR Full Circle, a company that provides workforce strategy, talent optimization services and general human resources consulting to organizations of all sizes and stages, and is a certified partner of the Predictive Index. Kelly’s background is in strategic human resources, talent optimization, leadership development, assessment, performance coaching, training, and change management. Growing up in a small business, she understands the challenges many owners face in finding, keeping and scaling great talent. Her experience spans multiple industries such as utilities, travel and leisure, retail, pharma and engineering in organizations large and small. She has a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology, and loves helping individuals and organizations reach their potential. She serves on the growth advisory panel for Innovate Springfield, the University of Illinois Springfield-led social innovation and business incubator program. She also serves on the board of Women Entrepreneurs of Central Illinois and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources. Consulting Services Include: Talent optimization Leadership development Performance coaching General human resources consulting Hiring & Networking Events The University of Illinois Research Park hosts and participates in multiple career fairs every year, hosts its own career fair in March, and creates specialty recruiting events engaging various Registered Student Organizations, university departments, and other affiliated groups. Additionally, Catalyze, a professional networking event, is held twice a year at EnterpriseWorks to encourage conversation among employers across Research Park and the Champaign-Urbana community. These events allow Research Park companies to recruit full-time and part-time employees, as well as interns. Research Park also employs staff dedicated to supporting the growing workforce of Research Park. They provide services including recruiting assistance and professional development opportunities. They connect employers to talent, facilitate Research Park exclusive hiring events and development workshops, and promote job openings across the community. For more information on recruiting assistance, contact uirp-jobs@illinois.edu Past Recruiting Assistance Workshops

Workforce Development Read Post »

Research Park Tenants

Faculty Engagement

researchpark24 / August 6, 2019

Faculty Engagement Research Park companies have access to University of Illinois faculty. Through the Expert-in-Residence program, company leadership can engage faculty on business needs including design, data science, and supply chain management. Whether a Corporate Innovation Center or a startup at EnterpriseWorks, these experts are available to consult Research Park companies at no charge. Experts-in-Residence If your company is interest in working with one of our Faculty Experts-in-Residence, please contact Laura Bleill at lwbleill@illinois.edu. More Resources Illinois Experts Office of Corporate Relations Laura Bleill Director of Communications and External Engagement Contact Laura to work with a Faculty Expert-in-Residence. Robert Brunner Robert Brunner provides consulting to Research Park companies through his role as Data Science Expert-in-Residence. Brunner is a Professor in the School of Information Sciences and in the Department of Accounting in the College of Business at the University of Illinois with interests in big data challenges involving data analysis, visualization, and mining. Robert has led Big Data Short courses that focused on topics in visualization and the use of Hadoop and HPC resources for data analytics. As the Data Science Expert-in-Residence, Robert provides guidance to clients by applying advanced computational and statistical techniques to astronomical data to gain insights that are applicable to business. Udatta Palekar Lorem Ipsum Jana Diesner Dr. Jana Diesner is a faculty member in the iSchool and earned her PhD in CS from Carnegie Mellon University. Diesner conducts research at the nexus of network science, natural language processing and machine learning. Her research contributes computational analysis of the interplay and co-evolution of information and the structure and functioning of socio-technical networks.

Faculty Engagement Read Post »

Research Park Tenants

ALLIED AGENCY

researchpark24 / June 18, 2019

Allied Agency Allied Agencies may can receive specific benefits offered by the University of Illinois for being located on the Urbana-Champaign campus. For more information on the benefits of being an allied organization, please visit the Office of Corporate Relations website here. Companies located at the University of Illinois Research Park are eligible to apply for Allied Agency status. To become an Allied Agency, follow these steps: Complete this form and send it to research-park@illinois.edu. Research Park staff will sign and send the form to the Office of Corporation Relations, who will send a letter to your Research Park site. Next, send a list of your employees to the OCR and Research Park staff. Request a NetID. After requesting a NetID, request an Illinois.edu email address by contacting Tech Services. Then, you may request a Research Park card. Visit the ID Center located at the Illini Union Bookstore to get your card.

ALLIED AGENCY Read Post »

EnterpriseWorks Tenants

Designer-In-Residence

researchpark24 / February 4, 2019

Designer-In-Residence EntrepriseWorks has engaged Dr. Deana McDonagh, Professor of Industrial Design in the School of Art + Design at the University of Illinois, as a Designer-in-Residence. In this role, she assists University of Illinois inventors and entrepreneurs to incorporate empathic design and design thinking in their technology development to help improve user experiences and performance of products to meet customer needs. She is an Empathic Design Research Strategist who focuses on enhancing quality of life for all through more intuitive and meaningful products, leading to emotional sustainability. Her research concentrates on emotional user-product relationships and how empathy can bring the designer closer to users’ authentic need. Specifically, McDonagh works with startup companies in EnterpriseWorks to further support transforming their inventions into innovations for wider impact. Support can include user research, initial form exploration, mood boards, brainstorming, field research, user evaluation and design strategy. A recent article in Wired spoke of the need, “So instead of competing on technology, people are competing on design. And now everyone seems to be trying to out-design each other.” EnterpriseWorks companies can receive assistance from our Designer-in-Residence at no charge. DESIGNER-IN-RESIDENCE REQUEST Deana McDonagh Designer-in-Residence Deana is our dedicated Designer-in-Residence.

Designer-In-Residence Read Post »

Research Park Tenants

Makerspace

researchpark24 / February 1, 2019

Makerspace EnterpriseWorks at the University of Illinois Research Park houses a shared Makerspace and shared labs. These spaces are open to Research Park tenants and offer free, well-maintained resources. EnterpriseWorks’ Makerspace EnterpriseWorks, the startup incubator of the University of Illinois Research Park, is home to a shared Makerspace. 3D printers, table saws, laser cutters, and much more are available for use. Research Park companies, including corporations, small businesses, EnterpriseWorks tenants, and affiliate members, are permitted use of the space. For more information, contact research-park@illinois.edu. EnterpriseWorks’ Shared Lab Facilities At EnterpriseWorks, labs are available with casework, fume hoods, plumbing, gas, and shelving. Basic labs are available, and full fit-out labs for chemical and life science companies are also available. Equipment List 3D Printer Air compressor Belt Sander Bench Grinder Drill Press Horizontal Bandsaw Laser Cutter Lathe Mill/TDrill/Tapping Machine Miter Saw Various hand tools Vertical Bandsaw

Makerspace Read Post »

Research Park

Resources

FAST Center at Illinois: SBIR Resources

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program

Aware

EnterpriseWorks Shared Services Program

Catapult Program

Workforce Development

Faculty Engagement

ALLIED AGENCY

Designer-In-Residence

Makerspace

Research Park

Link List Heading

ILLINOIS

About Cookies

More Information

Cookie Categories

(Always Active)

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024

Accessibility